Bill Text: NJ ACR97 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposes constitutional amendment to change the powers of the Council on Local Mandates with respect to the determination of certain laws, rules or regulations to be unfunded mandates.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee [ACR97 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2012-ACR97-Introduced.html

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ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 97

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

215th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  SCOTT T. RUMANA

District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Proposes constitutional amendment to change the powers of the Council on Local Mandates with respect to the determination of certain laws, rules or regulations to be unfunded mandates.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

  

A Concurrent Resolution proposing to amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the New Jersey Constitution.

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

 

     1.    The following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of New Jersey is hereby agreed to:

 

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

 

     a.     Amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 to read as follows:

     5.    [a.  With] (a) (1)  Except as provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, with respect to any provision of a law enacted on and after January 17, 1996, and with respect to any rule or regulation issued pursuant to a law originally adopted after July 1, 1996, and except as otherwise provided herein, any provision of such law, or of such rule or regulation issued pursuant to a law, which is determined in accordance with this paragraph to be an unfunded mandate upon boards of education, counties, or municipalities because it does not authorize resources, other than the property tax, to offset the additional direct expenditures required for the implementation of the law or rule or regulation, shall, upon such determination cease to be mandatory in its effect and expire.  A law or rule or regulation issued pursuant to a law that is determined to be an unfunded mandate shall not be considered to establish a standard of care for the purpose of civil liability.

     (2)   Any regulation promulgated by the Council on Affordable Housing to effectuate statutory law, no matter when the statutory law was enacted or the regulation was adopted, that directly conflicts with that statutory law, because it requires the expenditure of funds by municipalities, shall be determined pursuant to this paragraph to be an unfunded mandate, and upon such determination shall cease to be mandatory in its effect and expire.

     (b)   The Legislature shall create by law a Council on Local Mandates.  The Council shall resolve any dispute regarding whether a law or rule or regulation issued pursuant to a law constitutes an unfunded mandate.  The Council shall consist of nine public members appointed as follows:  four members to be appointed by the Governor; one member to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one member to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the General Assembly; and one member to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.  Of the members appointed by the Governor, at least two shall be appointed from a list of six willing nominees submitted by the chairman of the political party whose candidate for Governor received the second largest number of votes at the most recent gubernatorial general election.  The decisions of the Council shall be political and not judicial determinations.

     (c)   Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph to the contrary, the following categories of laws or rules or regulations issued pursuant to a law, shall not be considered unfunded mandates:

     (1)   those which are required to comply with federal laws or rules or to meet eligibility standards for federal entitlements;

     (2)   those which are imposed on both government and non-government entities in the same or substantially similar circumstances;

     (3)   those which repeal, revise or ease an existing requirement or mandate or which reapportion the costs of activities between boards of education, counties, and municipalities;

     (4)   those which stem from failure to comply with previously enacted laws or rules or regulations issued pursuant to a law; and

     (5)   [those which implement the provisions of this Constitution; and ] (Deleted by amendment.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

     (6)   laws which are enacted after a public hearing, held after public notice that unfunded mandates will be considered, for which a fiscal analysis is available at the time of the public hearing and which, in addition to complying with all other constitutional requirements with regard to the enactment of laws, are passed by 3/4 affirmative vote of the members of each House of the Legislature.

(cf:  Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 added effective December 7, 1995)

 

     2.    When this proposed amendment to the Constitution is finally agreed to pursuant to Article IX, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, it shall be submitted to the people at the next general election occurring more than three months after the final agreement and shall be published at least once in at least one newspaper of each county designated by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Secretary of State, not less than three months prior to the general election.

 

     3.    This proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted to the people at that election in the following manner and form:

     There shall be printed on each official ballot to be used at the general election, the following:

     a.     In every municipality in which voting machines are not used, a legend which shall immediately precede the question as follows:

     If you favor the proposition printed below make a cross (X), plus (+), or check (a) in the square opposite the word "Yes." If you are opposed thereto make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (a) in the square opposite the word "No."

     b.    In every municipality the following question:

 

		CHANGES TO POWERS OF MANDATE COUNCIL
	YES	Shall the amendment to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5, agreed to by the Legislature, which requires that any regulation promulgated by the Council on Affordable Housing that directly conflicts with statutory law because it requires the expenditure of funds by municipalities shall be determined by the Council on Local Mandates to be an unfunded mandate, and also removes from the categories of laws, rules and regulations that shall not be considered unfunded mandates under Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 those which implement provisions of the New Jersey Constitution, be approved?
		INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT
	NO	This constitutional amendment would require that any regulation adopted by the Council on Affordable Housing to effectuate statutory law that directly conflicts with that statutory law because it requires the expenditure of funds by municipalities, must be determined by the Council on Local Mandates to be an unfunded mandate, and would not be enforceable, no matter when the statutory law was enacted or the regulation was adopted.  This proposed amendment also would remove from the current constitutional categories of laws, rules and regulations that are not unfunded mandates, those which implement the New Jersey Constitution.

 

STATEMENT

 

     If approved by a majority of the voters of the State, this proposed amendment to the New Jersey Constitution would require that any regulation promulgated by the Council on Affordable Housing to effectuate statutory law, that directly conflicts with that statutory law because it requires the expenditure of funds by municipalities, must be determined by the Council on Local Mandates to be an unfunded mandate, and thereby cease to be mandatory in its effect and expire, no matter when the statutory law was enacted or the regulation was adopted.  Currently, the New Jersey Constitution generally limits the determination of unfunded mandates by the Council on Local Mandates to those laws enacted on and after January 17, 1996, and rules or regulations issued pursuant to a law originally adopted after July 1, 1996.

     This proposed amendment also would remove from the current constitutional categories of laws, rules and regulations that cannot be considered by the Council on Local Mandates to be unfunded mandates, those laws, rules or regulations which implement the provisions of the New Jersey Constitution.